Jurgen Klopp has revealed that he left Borussia Dortmund prematurely in order to help the club land his successor, Thomas Tuchel.
The current Liverpool manager shot to prominence in Germany for his time with Dortmund, but announced he would leave the club at the end of the 2014/15 season, ahead of his departure.
He was then replaced by Tuchel for the following campaign and would eventually head to Merseyside to take the reigns at Anfield in October 2015, where he has since guided the club to a Champions League crown and their first ever Premier League title.
Speaking to German outlet WDR, Klopp explained his decision to leave: “I can still remember the reason for the timing back then – Thomas Tuchel was about to go to HSV.
“‘Wait a minute! Tuchel is going to HSV? Then we have to get it out there now!’ That’s why it was a little earlier than planned at the time.”
The German coach is referring to Hamburg, who were close to appointing Tuchel before Dortmund swooped in and snapped him up as Klopp’s successor at Die Borussen.
Klopp’s final season at Dortmund was a difficult one, with the club struggling tremendously for form in the Bundesliga but eventually managing to pull together a seventh-placed finish.
Tuchel took the club to the DFB-Pokal final in his first season at the helm and would win the trophy a year later, in a short but sweet stay.